Next Outsiders, Latest Story
by FlipWise
Summary: Once again. A certain person is graduating. Danny & Trix thought life wouldn't get nicer. Until they find out, that the past can sometimes come to the present for a quick visit.
1. Graduation

They're back. Let's get this one started.

Next Outsiders, Latest Story

I don't own The Outsiders.

Chapter 1: Graduation

"C'mon, Danny. We gotta go!"

"I'm almost ready."

Kasie was yelling for Danny to get ready for Jack's graduation. It took him an extra year, but Jack was graduating from High school. Good thing the graduation was a week away from when school ended. The group did have a little complication right when school ended.

Trix came walking out of his room buttoning up a jeans jacket outfit. They didn't have to suit up for this graduation, but they had to look half decent. Trix stood in front of his wife and asked,

"How do I look?"

Kasie smiled and said,

"Beautiful as always."

Trix smiled as Danny came from his room buttoning up his good shirt.

"Ready to go?" asked Trix.

"Yeah," answered Danny.

The three family members walked outside of the house and got into the car. They were just about late to the school. They reached the football field and found their family. Sodapop waved them over.

Trix went and sat beside his brothers, Kasie sat next to Cathy while Danny sat next to Maria.

"Hey, Danny. Glad you're feeling better."

"Feeling better?"

"Well. You know what I mean. How you used to be all quiet."

"Oh that. Yeah, I'm my old self again. Where's everyone else?"

"They'll be back in a minute. They ran to their car to grab some sodas. It is getting hot out here."

"And here I am with a long sleeve button up shirt."

Maria smiled and they got closer. Danny then remembered something.

"There's a party tonight. Wanna go?"

"What a graduation party? Wouldn't that be for seniors?"

"Yeah. But the host is letting us slide. Since we're going to be seniors next year, we can go."

"That's cool."

"Yeah. Me and Jack had to talk to a couple of graduates to make it happen."

"Glad you know people."

"With all the crap I've been through. It's hard not to get noticed."

"True. Hey, here they come."

Danny turned around to see the rest of the group walking towards them with Sprite cans.  
"Hey Danny," greeted Alex. "We saw your dad's car, so we grabbed an extra for you."

"Thanks," said Danny grabbing the one that Keith handed him.

Danny then thought for a moment. Keith sat his soda down and Danny quickly switched their sodas. Keith turned back around and opened his can. The sprite sprayed right into his face. Everyone laughed that Keith's plan didn't work.

"You're not that slick," said Danny smiling at the soaked Keith. Keith just smiled and mumbled,

"Crud."

Rachel then let out what she had been happy about all morning.

"I can't wait until next year. Seniors."

"Just one year away," said Keith twisting his shirt.

"We'll be calling shots," said Alex.

"I already am," pointed out Danny.

"Cause you're pretty much Mr. Popular. You know everybody. I just got here."

"Sucks for you," said Rachel smiling.

Alex looked at Rachel. Then smiled also. They really did have a thing going for each other. No one else seemed to notice. Things really escalated when Alex had saved Rachel from that bullet.

The band started playing which meant that the graduation was about to start. The graduating seniors then started walking onto the football field. Houston leaned over to Danny.

"Where's Jack?"

"He's…..right there. In the middle."

Sure enough, there was Jack. With the biggest grin that had ever appeared on his face. Danny took a quick glance at Soda. Sodapop was smiling too. Soda had dropped out of school, which meant that he had never graduated. It must have been something real big for Jack to be graduating. His only son.

They called out all the students names. Danny only knew about two or three seniors not including Jack. They finally reached Jack.

"Jack Curtis."

Trix, Danny and co. started to clap and cheer as Jack walked up to graduate. After he turned his hat tip, he looked at his family and friends and waved. He then walked back to his position.


	2. Argument

Chapter 2: Argument

Danny and co. began walking towards the school, about to meet up with Jack. Danny then turned around to everyone else.

"You guys are going to the party right?"

"Yeah, we'll be there," said Alex.

Alex cut his eyes over to Rachel. Rachel noticed him and smiled. They had something secret going on.

"And someone is going to have to change their shirt," said Rachel pointing to Keith.

"Yeah, yeah."

They found Jack and he walked up to his group.

"Congrats, cuz," said Danny giving Jack their group handshake.

"Finally made it. What happened to you?" asked Jack looking at Keith.

"Trick didn't work," mumbled Keith.

"Where do you plan to go?" asked Maria.

"I'm not sure. Dad said I might get a football scholarship."

"You played football?" asked Danny.

"For the first three years. I got kicked off because of my smoking."

"You plan on quitting your smoking?" asked Houston to Alex.

"I don't do it much," said Alex.

Alex had been smoking for a long time. But he only did it when he was worried. It nearly killed him when he and Danny ran away. He forgot his pack at the Shepard's building.

"Who's all hitting the party tonight?" yelled out Jack.

Everyone yelled out 'Yeah' and they walked out to the parking lot, where the adults were. When Soda noticed his son, he pulled him into a bear hug.

"All that trouble you gave me. And you still made it."

Jack had put Soda through a lot of stuff. Getting arrested a couple of times, having sex, smoking. All through the while, they both acted the same. Always happy about something. And wanted the group to stay in a good mood.

A tear slid down Soda's face. He was real proud of his son.

Two cars drove up to a house. One carried Jack, Rachel, Houston, Keith & Alex. The other car was Maria's car. She was riding and let Danny drive. The cars parked and Jack and co. got out and walked into the party. Danny and Rachel continued to sit in the car.

"This is a nice car. It's an Oldsmobile right?"

Rachel nodded.

"My dad said it was the year '78."

"This is real cool."

"When are you supposed to be getting your car?"

"Not sure. I'm saving up for a Cadillac or something."

"Your parents aren't going to buy it."

"Well, I had convinced my dad, but my mom told him that I promised to buy my own car years ago. When money was real scarce."

"Oh. Well. Let's go inside."

The couple got out of the car and walked inside. It was a pretty decent looking party. Mostly everyone was about Jack's age or older. But there were some people around their age besides Rachel and Keith.

Danny and Maria danced once. They were waiting for the slow jam to come on so they could do that. They just sat on the couch talking for a little bit. Maria had to go use the restroom in a second, so Danny waited for her. Then this one chick came by. She looked familiar.

"Hey there."

Danny and looked at here with no interest. She had on too much make up. He replied,

"Hi," and turned his head looking for his girl.

"I like your shirt. Real nice."

"I got it for cheap."

Danny obviously wasn't interested in her. She took note of this. And she tapped his shoulder. When he turned around, the girl lunged and kissed him right on the lips. Danny was taken back for a quick second and then jumped off the couch.

"What are you doing?"

The girl jumped off laughing and ran off to her friends. One of them had a digital camera. Danny overheard what they were saying.

"I told you I would be able to kiss him."

Danny shook his head and went to get something to drink. It would be real quick. When he walked up to the drinks, he saw Maria running out the door. He quickly chased after her. She was walking towards her car. He called her name. She stopped for a second and then turned around. She had a very saddened look on her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Danny. Maria was still sad.

"I saw that picture."

"What picture."

"The picture of the girl kissing you."

"Now hold up. Let me explain."

"No..no."

"What?"

"Look Danny. Maybe we should just….take a break."

Danny was blank, he repeated quietly,

"Take a break?"

"We should."

Maria didn't stick around and she got into her car and drove off. Leaving Danny there. Danny took a deep sigh and walked over to Jack's car. He leaned against it.

"Hey buddy. What's up?"

Danny looked to see Alex walking towards him. Alex noticed Danny's look.

"What happened?"  
Danny sighed and answered,

"Maria and I just broke up."


	3. How It is Going To Be

Chapter 3: The Way It's Going to Be

Jack's car drove up to Danny's house. Jack put the car in park and looked in the back seat to see his cousin. Danny was getting his seat belt off.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," answered Danny in a normal voice.

They weren't too worried that Danny would overreact, so they didn't bother him. Danny just walked into his house. When he entered, his mom was in the kitchen cleaning up. She noticed him and said,

"Did you have fun?"

Danny shook his head. Kasie cleaned her hands and walked towards her son.

"What's wrong?"

Danny looked at her and answered,

"Maria and I broke up."

"Oh, honey."

"No. It's fine. I'm just going to turn in."

"You're going to be okay?"

"Yeah."

Danny walked over to his room. He lied down in the bed. He felt someone's presence but didn't bother to look. A couple of seconds later, he heard Trix talking to his mom. He could hear their full conversation.

"What's wrong with Danny?"

"He just broke up with Maria."

"Aw, man. Maybe I should talk to him."

"No. It'll be fine. He didn't act suspicious-like."

Act suspicious-like. That one made Danny think. He would have to just forget about that night. His family had already seemed him depressed enough. I think that pretty much left a mark on him. Danny Curtis, kid who overacts with depression.

Danny sat up and took off his good shirt. He and Maria could just be friends.

…….

The next morning, Danny was awoken by the telephone ringing. He reached over towards his phone and felt around for it. He finally clutched it and pulled it to his ear.

"Hello," he said sleepily.

"Hey, Danny. It's Keith. Did I wake you?"

"Yeah."

"Well get your butt on up! Alex, Jack and I are going to the CD store. The owner owed my uncle, so he letting us grab a couple of CD's free."

Danny wiped his eyes.

"When are y'all leaving?"

"We'll be at your house in about five to ten minutes."

"All right. I'll be waiting."

Keith hung up and Danny put the phone back on the hook. He rose out of bed and ran his head through his hair. He had gotten trimmed a little while back, but it was still a little long. But not too long.

He walked over to the closet and picked out his clothes. Danny took a glance outside. It looked like it was blazing outside. He put on a white t-shirt with a blue short sleeve button-up over it. He added on some long blue shorts to his attire and some black shoes. He looked over to his desk and saw a picture of him and Maria. He didn't want to look at it for too long so he flipped to where it was face down.

Danny walked up front, his parents had already g. one to work. He sat down on the couch and looked out the window, waiting for everyone. He cut on the television to see if there was a movie on or something. Before he could find one, a honk ran through his ears. He picked up the remote and cut the television off.

He locked up the house and walked outside. He got into the back of the car next to his best friend and the car drove off.

"Doing good?" asked Alex.

"Yeah. It's good."

"Alright."

When they reached the store, they went through the racks.

"What are you going to be looking for?" asked Jack.

"Atlanta music," said Danny. "T.I., Boyz In Da Hood, or something."

"I might grab one of the Diplomats," said Alex going through the rap/hip-hop section.

"What about you, Keith?" asked Jack.

"Weird Al'."

Everyone looked at him.

"Weird Al?" asked Danny.

"He's pretty funny."

Jack and Keith left the section and looked for their own CD's. Alex found one CD, then went to the opposite rack and looked in the R&B section.

"Since when do you listen to R&B?" asked Danny.

Alex turned around and said suddenly,

"Um. Well…"

"What's up?"

"We were going to tell later. With what's on and all."

"Who's we?"

"Um…"

"Spit it out."

"Alright….Me andRachel are going out."

"That's it?"

"Well yeah."

"Not that bad. She needed someone. What were you nervous about?"

"Well you just ended a relationship, and your best friend going out with your cousin probably would have made you feel worse."

"Nah. I'm over that. You're a good guy. You'll treat her right. Trust me.Rachel isn't someone to worry about."

Alex smiled.

"Thanks man."

"Hey. We've always been cool."

Alex continued to look through the section and grabbed the Bobby Valentino and Boys II Men CD. Danny looked at the Boys II Men CD. It reminded him of the song they made called, "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye."


	4. Chase Off

Chapter 4: Chase Off

Danny and company left the CD store carrying a couple of bags full of CD's and magazines.

"What do y'all wanna do now?" asked Alex swinging a bag around.

"I don't know. Let's go to my uncle's bar or something."

"Alright."

As Danny and company were walking towards Two-Bit's bar, Danny stopped and noticed something. He backed up on the sidewalk and looked through the window of the restaurant. There sitting in the back of the restaurant, was Maria. Sitting there with some boy. Danny continued to stare at them. She was laughing. They both looked like they were having a good time.

"Danny! Watch it!"

Danny swirled around suddenly and three water balloons splashed onto top of his head. Soaking his entire body. He saw a couple of little kids running down the street and he walked to his group shaking the dampness out of his hair.

"Man, they nailed you," said Jack smiling. None of them could help but smile, including Danny.

"Yeah, I know. I guess this is my cue to head on home."

"Are you gonna come back out?" asked Keith.

"I don't know. Might listen to this CD I just got."

"Which one did you get?" asked Jack.

"I just grabbed a Link-N-Park. They didn't have anything new I wanted. I'll see y'all later."

Danny walked towards his neighborhood carrying his now soaked bag and soak clothing. He reached his household thinking about Maria. She had already gotten a date. That quick. Danny realized that he really must have been hurting over this situation. And he was trying to forget about her. His summer really got started off pretty bad. The last time, his summer got started off badly was when he and Alex were nearly robbed in the street. Good thing Tay came along.

Danny started to think about Tay as he entered the house. Then he started to think about Matt. He hadn't heard a thing about Matt. He was in the hospital that whole while. But Tay, he was going to do about thirty years. Big drug dealing and lots of other stuff.

Danny threw his clothes off and took a shower. All the while he was thinking about his days back in Atlanta. His mother once said that he was starting to grow up. At that time, he didn't understand what she had meant. Now he did. He was less rowdy now-a-days. He wasn't too active.

He stepped out and went directly to his room. He had to find some clean clothes to put on. He slipped on some blue jeans and grabbed a white T-shirt. He heard something. His head jolted around to the hallway to see what was going on.

Danny slipped on his t-shirt and slowly crept into the hallway. His parents were still at work. They shouldn't be home this early.

He stuck his head around but still didn't see anything. But then he noticed that a vase table was turned over. Someone was definitely in the house. He turned around and froze. There was a guy standing right there. He had a scar over his left eye. He smiled when he noticed Danny.

"Little Curtis," he said in a cold voice.

Danny backed up and little and yelled,

"Who the heck are you!"

"An old friend of your dad."

"Well, he ain't here. So I suggest you leave."

"You plan on kicking me out, squirt."

Danny knew he couldn't take this guy. He was pretty large and had a good build. He was clad in some jail pants and a muscle t-shirt. The guy took a couple of steps forward. Danny reached into his room and grabbed a baseball bat. The guy smiled.

"That isn't gonna hold me."

"Watch it!"

Danny swung low and hit the guy in his knee caps. He nearly fell and Danny took a swung at his head. The guy grabbed the bat and wrenched it from the teenager's hands. Danny took note that he couldn't hold this guy with anything so he ran to his room and locked the door. He grabbed some spare change and climbed up his window. By the time he was halfway through, he heard the door burst open.

He was able to slip out the window before the guy could grab him. Danny fell and hit the grass below him. He instantly got up and ran. He couldn't understand why this guy would be after him. Everything was supposed to calm and normal. Why is the start of his summer getting worse everyday?

He slowed down to a jog a while up the road, guessing that the guy lost him. He stopped at rested at Two-Bit's bar. He sunk down and sat on the pavement. He decided that he would run to the Curtis house and tell his uncles about the situation. His uncle Darry was home too. He had enough muscle to handle the guy.

He then turned his head and saw the guy walking out of a car. What was this guy's deal? The pulled out a lighter as he approached him. The guy threw a lit lighter at him.

Danny didn't know what this guy was doing and he quickly moved out of the way and continued to run. The lighter broke through the window and as Danny was running the bar caught fire.

The young Curtis turned around. The man torched Two-Bit's bar! Danny cut through the woods. He was a while from the Curtis house.

He was running so fast that he tripped over his own feet and rolled into the street. A car was coming but stopped down the road. Danny shot up and ran towards the car, hoping for a ride.

When he reached the vehicle, he recognized it as Maria's car. Just great, she was driving. He knocked on the window, and she unlocked the door.

"Danny! What are you-"

"I don't have time. Let me in."

Maria noticed the fire and then noticed the man walking towards them from his car.

"Who is that? Did you start that fire?"

"Scoot over!"

Maria did so and Danny got in the driver's seat and burst into speed. The man followed in his car. They were both speeding down the road.

-I know. Cliffhanger. I had to shorten it because it was dragging on.


	5. Lost

A little note. It night at this time. Sorry if it's confusing.

Chapter 5: Lost

The two cars were speeding around the empty town. They had entered the Southside of town. Danny didn't know where he was. He had never entered this part. Maria was obviously still lost and she asked,

"What's going on Danny?"

"I told you I'll tell you later!"

"Why not now!"

"Could you shut-up? I'm trying to focus!"

Maria was taken back by Danny's last remark, but he didn't notice. He was trying to get the guy off of him. Suddenly the guy speeded up and hit the Oldsmobile from behind. Danny swerved a bit. The guy gave it another try. Danny almost ran off the road.

He looked in the rear view mirror and saw the car behind burst into speed. In the moment's hesitation, Danny turned to the left. He broke through a construction sign and went down a steep road and left Tulsa. He wasn't sure where he was going, but this road was steep.

Maria started to scream, which didn't make Danny feel too hot. He tried to gain control of the car but he failed. The car entered an area with no lighting whatsoever. The street lights weren't working.

The headlights were showing, but it didn't show much. Danny saw that were in the woods. The sounds of tree limbs scraping the car ripped through both of the teenagers ears. He suddenly saw what they were about to run into. There was a line of trees dead in front of them. Danny hit the brakes quickly and the car tried to hold on. The car slowed down but still had enough speed to hit the tree. Danny and Maria were both thrown forward, but didn't have any damage.

They both stood their catching their breaths. Danny couldn't believe what had just happened. He knew that none of this possibly had anything to do with him. The last couple of times, he was involved because of something he did. But he couldn't recall anything he did to have some grown man coming after him.

He was snapped back into reality when Maria slapped him across the shoulder.

"What was that for?" he yelled.

"That was for not telling me what's going on and for telling me to shut-up!"

"Well you needed to! I had to get away from that guy!"

"Why?"

"I don't know. He broke into my house and started chasing me!"

"So now you've dragged me into this," she said sitting back.

"What! You want me to be sorry. I had to find the first vehicle."

"You ruined my car while you were at it."

"You've got insurance!"

"Does it work at all?"

"We hit the tree pretty hard."

Danny started trying to get the engine working. But the engine didn't put up any power.

"Crap," said Danny slamming his hands on the wheel. Maria was looking at him. He replied,

"What!"

"Look. I want to get outta here as quickly as you do. So let's find a payphone or something."

Danny looked at her as she got out of the car. He followed. They both were trying to hide their care. They had just broken up. Danny was willing to be friends with her. But she was acting stupid. Breaking up with him, going out the next day, and acting pissed at him for no reason.

They walked through the woods without even opening their mouth to each other. They made their way out of the woods and found a payphone next to a closed down building.

"Do you have change?" asked Maria.

"Don't worry about it."

Maria crossed her arms as Danny inserted the coins into the phone. He called his home. Hoping that one of his parents would pick up. Someone answered on the first ring.

"Danny?"

"It's me dad."

Trix sighed when he heard his son's voice.

"Where are you? It's 11:30!"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? What happened?"

"When I got home, some guy had broken in and chased me around. I caught a ride with Maria and he chased us outta town. I have no idea where we are."  
"….That's it?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Danny. The police are looking for you."

"The police?"

"They say that someone saw you burn down Two-Bit's bar. They find it real suspicious that you were missing too."

"Why would I do that?"

"Some people believe it was because you and Maria aren't an item."

"Well I didn't do it! I was over there, but the guy that was chasing did it."

Trix sighed.

"You believe me don't you?"

"I'll always believe you. I'm trying to tell the cops that you wouldn't do that."

Danny sighed. He was in real deep.

"What should I do?"

"Try to find a way back here and turn yourself in."

"You want me to turn myself in?"

"It's the right thing Danny. Just do it."

"O-oka-"

The phone cut off and the dial tone hit. He was out of time. He turned to Maria who was staring at him with a confused face.

"What do you mean 'Turn yourself in?'"

Danny gave another sigh and explained what was going on.


	6. Get Comfortable

Chapter 6: Get Comfortable

"Did you do it?" asked Maria. Her facial expression was different now.

Danny noticed that she didn't seem as angry as she did when Danny began. She had gradually begun to ease as he told the story. Danny was glad that she wasn't irritated anymore. She was annoying.

"No," said Danny simply. "And my dad said that I'm going to have to turn myself in."

"Well, are you?"

"I don't know."

"I agree with your dad."

"What? You want to see me locked up?"

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Both of their angers were rising again. But they both stayed calm. Danny was in a bad situation, and he didn't want to crazy.

"Let's find somewhere to sleep first, then I'll turn myself in."

"Do you know a place?"

"Didn't I just say that I didn't know where we were!"

"Sorry!"

The two walked off in silence, hoping to find a motel or something. As they walked, they found a motel and diner. Danny was surprised that the diner was still open. He was hungry also. He looked at Maria.

"Do you have any money?"

"Don't you have any?"

"All I have is chunk change."

She sighed and reached into her purse. He was glad that she didn't forget it in the car. Danny did feel a little guilty for ruining her car. But he didn't want to admit. It was true. He was furious at her. Especially since she was already dating. And the way she was acting now didn't make it any better.

"I have forty-five dollars," said Maria. "We can't spend much."

"This is an old diner. We shouldn't be able to spend much."

"With food and a room? Think about it!"

That did make him think.

"The best thing to do buy the cheapest thing on the menu."

"What if the cheapest thing is nasty," said Danny. "Look. The most something will cost is five dollars. And we're only spending money for one night. Let's just get a burger or something. That shouldn't cost too much."

"I guess."

Maria did sound depressed. Probably because she couldn't beat what he just said. The two proceeded to walk towards the diner and get their food. They sat down at a booth and waited for a waiter to approach them.

Trix's son looked at the menu. He was right. A burger was only $3.49. Fifty cents more for some fries. Drinks were only $1.50. Danny just got a burger and decided to pass on the fries. Maria would probably spaz out on that. He put his menu down while Maria was still looking.

The waitress walked up soon and asked,

"What would you like?" to Danny.

"The burger and a Sprite."

She wrote his order and turned to Maria.

"And what would your girlfriend like?"

"We're not dating," Maria said quickly. "Chicken Tenders and a Pepsi please."

The waiter wrote down the remainder of the order and took their menus.

When they finished eating, they walked to the Motel. Maria walked to the desk first and asked the receptionist,

"Can we have a room?"

"I'll have to see your I.D.," said the receptionist putting a cigarette out.

Maria's face cringed and Danny put on a smirk. He knew she couldn't stand to be around smokers. This is why Alex never smoked around her. He only saw her at school or when she was over Danny's house. And Alex never smoked in those locations.

Maria handed the guy her I.D. and he looked over it. He handed back to her.

"No can do."

"What do you mean!" asked Danny frustrated.

"I can't give a room to anyone underage."

Maria's birthday was in about a month.

"Well, I'm seventeen," he said. "Can't you let that slide."

The receptionist shook his head.

"Sorry. Eighteen or older. You know. Like those call orders on the T-."

Danny didn't bother to hear it and he walked off and Maria followed him. He knew Maria was upset, but unlike her, he showed his anger.

"Now what are we gonna do?" yelled Danny.

"We can find some shelter somewhere," said Maria looking around.

"Where!" he yelled again, throwing his hands up.

"Quit yelling! I'm trying to think."

Danny quit so she could come up with something. He was way too angry to think.

"Look. There's a house over there."

"Right there? It looks broken down. They're tearing it down in three days!"

"Which means no one will be in there."

"Fine."

The teenagers walked over to the house and climbed through the broken window. They were looking for a space to lie down in. Maria then shrieked.

"What?"

"I just saw a rat!"

"You'll live."

Maria started to find anything to find something to cover her from the rodents. Danny hit the floor and stretched out. He fell asleep while recalling everything that happened.


	7. Bonus!

Somethin' Speacial!

Chapter 7: Bonus!

Trix sat up in his bed. He couldn't sleep. Knowing that his only son was not in his home again.

"Trix?"

Trix looked to the side to see Kasie sitting up also.

"Are you still thinking about Danny?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sure he's fine. I hope he's fine."

"Me too. Feeling any better?"

"A little."

"Okay. Get some more rest. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

Trix pulled on some kakis and threw on his jacket. He walked around Tulsa for a little bit. As he walked, he came across the park. This is where majority of the drama started. When that kid had lied about Trix. Saying that he attacked him.

Trix thought about what happened to that kid. He also wondered what Danny thought about him. No one ever talked about that situation much. This really the first time he gave that situation some deep thought.

He decided that this walk should be over and he walked back to his house. He had to go to the station later on. They wanted to ask him some questions about Danny. He could clearly remember what it was like when he first heard the news.

…….

"And that's it for Trix Curtis. I'm signing off."

Trix had taken the headphones off of his head. His radio shift was over. He walked out of the studio and finished up his business.

"Trix."

He turned around to who called him name.

"Hm?"

"There's a call for you."

He grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.

"Thanks. Hello?"

"Trix. This is Kaise."

"What's up?"

"Danny's missing!"

Trix froze. Danny was gone again. What was his reason now? Was it because of him and Maria breaking up? He knew he should have talked to him.

"What happened?"

"I got call from the police station. They said someone saw him burn Two-Bit's bar. Now the police are looking for him."

……..

Trix got it out of his head. He didn't want to think about what made his afternoon terrible. He was overjoyed when he got a call from Danny. But the phone had cut off, so they didn't have time to speak. He reached the house and went back to bed.

The next morning, he made his walk to the police station. He didn't want to take the car since Kasie wasn't feeling well. He didn't want to make her walk if she had to go somewhere. Trix didn't know what was wrong with her; she just became sick to her stomach all of a sudden. He guessed it was over Danny not being present.

He became a little nervous as he approached the door for the police department. He entered, told them why he was there, and soon found himself sitting at a table with an officer.

"How are you today, Trix?" started off the cop.

"Not good. Can we get to the point? My wife's not feeling well."

The cop gave him a look and proceeded.

"How does Danny usually act when something terrible to him happens?"

"He's just quiet."

"Uh-huh. I understand that he has run away before."

"Yes."

"Why did he?"

"We got into an argument over his friend who had dangerous connections. He didn't like me telling him to stay away from it."

"When did you last talk to him?"

"Last night. He called me from a pay phone."

The cop looked at him.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know."

"You said he had called you."

"From a pay-phone! He could be anywhere."

"What did you tell him!"

Trix could see frustration in the cop, and frankly, he was getting frustrated too. The cop acted like he knew everything about Danny's whereabouts.

"I told him to come back. To turn himself in."

"Is he going to do it?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean!"

"We were cut off!"

"Why didn't you call him back?"

"He was on a damn pay-phone! We don't have caller ID!"

"I think you're hiding something!" yelled the cop.

"And you know what I know?" yelled Trix standing up, knocking his chair back.

"What!"

"That you don't give a damn if you find my son or not. You think he's just another one of the kids that you arrest every week. Well Danny's not that. He's more mature than to burn a building. Especially someone who he knows personally!"  
"Get out!"

"I can't wait to leave!"

Trix stormed out of the building. That right there had done it. He was going to find his brothers and then find his son.


	8. Surprise, Surprise

Chapter 8: Surprise, Surprise

Danny opened his eyes and raised his head. That wasn't the most comfortable night. It was actually terrible. He had woken twice and had to turn a bit before he fell asleep. He got off of the uncomfortable floor and noticed Maria near on the ground with a dirty cover on top of her.

He climbed out of the house and checked his surroundings. It was too dark last night to see anything. He knew he was in the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly, the sound of a horn ran threw his ears. It was a loud horn. He covered them and looked around. Above the woods, he could see a post guard. He turned around to see Maria climbing out of the house. It must have woken her up too.

"Where did that come from?" she asked

"There's a prison over there."

"A prison!"

"Yeah. I guess we better keep it moving."

The teenagers continued their walk and they came across another pay phone.

"Hold on," said Danny reaching into his pockets. "Let me call my dad again."

"Are you still are going to turn yourself in?"

He would have snapped on her again with that remark, but something in her voice made him change his mind quickly. She seemed worried. That then put his hopes up. She did have a chance of liking him again.

"Yeah. But now I have an idea of where we are. I don't think there are many prisons near Tulsa. That could give Dad an idea of where we are."

"Good thinking."

Danny inserted his change and waited for the phone rings. After two rings someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"….Uncle Darry?"

"Danny!"

"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing at my house?"

"Trix, Pony and I are waiting for Soda to get off work. We were going to look for you…hold on…yeah…Your dad wants to talk to you."

"Alright."

"…..Danny? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I have an idea of where Maria and I are."

"Where?"

"This morning, there was a prison near us. How many prisons are near Tulsa?"

"About three."

"Three!"

"Don't worry. That's a good enough clue. We'll get to you A.S.A.P. Just make sure to stay close to where you are."

"Gotcha."

"Okay. Hold up. I've got a question for you. What did that guy that chased you look like?"

"Uhhh. He said he was an old friend of yours or something. He looked fresh out of jail and had a scar on his face."

"A scar!"

"Yeah."

"…..I'll see you in a minute."

"Um. Okay. Bye."

He hung up the phone and turned to Maria.

"Anything good," she asked.

"Yeah. They said there are three jails near Tulsa. Don't worry. They should be able to pick us up by tonight."

"That's good. Who was it that had a scar?"

"The guy that chased us down here. My dad seemed quiet when I mentioned him."

"He must know your dad."

"Guess so. We can't travel too far. They said to stay near."

"But this town is deserted. Where are we going to stay?"

"We'll figure something out."

Danny was glad that Maria was a little calmer this morning. Last night was a nightmare with her. He guessed she was just scared.

He quickly turned his head to the side. Something was moving in the bushes. He could swear that he saw somebody staring at him. Maria noticed Danny looking at that one spot and walked up to him.

"What's wrong?"

"I could swear I saw someone in those bushes. Looking straight at me."

"Are you sure it wasn't an animal or something."

"I don't think so. Look!"

He pointed towards the woods and saw a bright orange color. His fears hit him then. It could be the guy with the scar. He backed up a little and pushed his ex-girlfriend with him. She looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she repeated.

He continued to be fixed on that one spot.

"I think it's the guy that was chasing us."

Maria jolted her head to the spot also. The rumbling started again. The person walked out of the woods. No. It wasn't the guy, he was too small. Then Danny squinted his eyes. The person looked familiar, and he was around their age. Maria's eyes widened and Danny recognized the kid immediately. It the person who almost got his dad jailed. Matt was standing there with an evil smirk on his face.


	9. Safety

Chapter 9: Safety

Danny couldn't believe what he was seeing. What was Matt doing here? Then he remembered, they were outside of Tulsa, right near a jail. Matt had probably gone there for attempted murder.

He kept his face straight. The situation just got worse. He knew Maria was behind him shell-shocked. He didn't dare turn around to look at her; he wanted to keep all his eyes on his old enemy.

"Fancy meeting you here," said Matt with a toothless grin. Danny guessed that it was from the jail.

"How'd you get out?" asked Danny in a low, cold voice.

"Simple and fate."

"Quit talking in riddles and make better since."

"Heh, heh. I ran into an old friend of your dad's. Seems he was sent here from a jail in Georgia. Turns out that we both wanted revenge on some Curtis boys. We both escaped and he promised to get you here. Didn't think it would be so soon."

Danny surveyed his nemesis. He looked slightly different. A little buffer, longer hair and a ragged looking face. Just about the opposite of a clean soc. Matt continued.

"Don't know how he got you here, but I don't care. He promised that I would get to fight you a little, and hold you for ransom, and we'd kill both you and your dad."

So that was the game plan. That guy chased him out of his house and out of town for ransom to kill him and his father. Danny let it marinate and remarked,

"Well you aren't gonna hold me for ransom."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because to my knowledge, I've whipped you already."

"That was then, plus I've done a little jail time. Nothing like it."

"Try it then!"

Matt ran towards Danny and Maria moved out of the line of battle, knowing that the battle was now about to break off. Danny ducked Matt's swing and gave him a tackle. They both hit the rocky road below them and the Atlanta boy gave his foe some swings into the face. But like the words that were exchanged between the two, Matt had gotten stronger.

He rolled and to Danny's surprise he ended up on the ground with Matt on top of him. For defense, he quickly put his arms up to block any blows to his face. The former soc tried to hit Danny's face, but saw that he was blocking every way. He decided to take shots at his ribs.

Danny felt hard punches into his side and saw that this match would be difficult. He remembered quickly his fight with Tay. He hoped that his dad would follow the right jail and help him out. Except he knew his chances were one out of four.

Unexpectedly, Maria came at the two and smashed a large stick into the side of Matt's head and he was knocked off of Danny. He got up abruptly and was about to continue his bout but heard sirens suddenly.

Matt's head leaped up and he ran off into the woods. Danny knew what was happening; it was like killing two flies with one swat. Matt was off of him and he would get to turn himself in.

The cop got out of the car, recognizing Danny and yelled,

"Hands up!" while pulling out his pistol.

The seventeen year old was happy and he gladly reached for the sky. Before he knew it, he was getting escorted into the cop car with handcuffs tight around his wrists. He sat in the back and noticed Maria talking with the cop.

The cop seemed to be doing a seires of nods and then walked to the car with Maria. Maria got in the front of the car with the cop, but Danny didn't even ask why she was riding. He guessed that if he asked, the cop would get smart with him. That's happened before, and it's not the best feeling in the world.

The officer had to stop for gas and pulled into the nearest station, paying from the outside. When the cop was pumping his engine fluid, Danny asked Maria,

"So what's up? Why are you riding?"

"I told the cop that you didn't do it and he wants to question me. I also let it know that someone is after you. They want to get to the bottom of what's going on."

"Okay. That's good. Do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Call my uncle's cell phone. Ponyboy. Remember they're out looking for us. I wanta let them know that we're fine right now."

"Okay. What's his number?"

He gave Maria his uncle's cell phone number. When he finished, he sat back and thought in his mind that it was all over. The cop finished pumping and got back into his patrol vehicle. The drove for eight more minutes before they reached the jail. It was a small one in the middle of no where.

He was escorted down a hallway and into a jail cell, where his hands were finally free from the painful handcuffs. He was in a cell all by himself. No one else was there. He was glad. No telling what kind of people you would meet in here. Danny looked at his wrists, there were red marks from the tight cuffs.

There were bunk beads against the wall and he hoped that no one else would get arrested any time soon. Danny walked over towards the bed, tired from his last fight. The rocks on the ground didn't really help his back when he hit them.

He lied down on his back on the bed. It was dirty and rough, but he would manage. Not as comfortable as his bed at home. He thought about everything that had happened to him. This was the third time that he had left town. Once with Alex, another with his family and friends and this one tallied as third. Danny fell asleep thinking about his friends.


	10. Ruined

Chapter 10: Ruined

There was a gun shot quickly followed by a scream. Danny's eyes shot open and he rose up quickly, nearly hitting his head on the bottom of the top bunk.

There was more noise coming from the front of the station. And that scream sounded like Maria. He quickly got off the bed and ran to the cell doors. He tried to open it but it was obviously locked.

Danny yanked on the cell doors trying to get it open somehow. The door coming from the front suddenly swung open and Danny tried his best to get a look down the hall. Maria came running towards his cell block with a ring of keys.

"What's going on?" he yelled as Maria fiddled with the key chain trying to get one out of three of them in key hole.

"That guy! The one with the scar that was chasing you. He's here and he shot a cop and is fighting with the other one!"

"There were only two!"

"Yeah. Got it."

On Maria's second try, she got Danny's cell open and he exited hurriedly.

"We can't go up front. He's still up there. And he might still have the gun," said Maria with panic in her voice.

"There's a window right there. C'mon!"

Maria obeyed Danny's command and they both ran to the window at the end of the hallway. Danny reached their only exit first and said,

"I'll lift you up. C'mon."

With no hesitation, Maria put her foot on Danny's hands and he lifted her up towards the window. She swiftly unlocked the window and climbed through. She reached her hand down to pull her ex-boyfriend up with her.

As they were halfway through, there was another gun shot. That was enough inspiration for Danny to hurry through the window and they both landed, with their feet, on the dirt ground.

They quickly ran down the road and then across the desert-like area. They were once again, in the middle of no where. They stopped for a breather a couple of yards from a bus station. Danny looked at Maria and asked,

"That guy was there? What exactly happened?"

Maria took a deep breath and started off by saying,

"I didn't know that was him. Or I would have warned that cop when he first entered. I was sitting there talking with the cop. He believed me completely. He was going to talk with the other cops after a while. That's when….he entered. I had a quick look at him, and I couldn't remember what made me double glance at him. That scar should have been enough of a clue. But I didn't pay him any attention. The cop told me that he would get back to me in a minute and I walked towards the water jug to get a drink. That's when I heard him say, 'That kid in that cell didn't burn the gas station. I did'. I turned around and saw the guy shoot….shoot…him in ….his face. I screamed and the cop called for some back up. The guy started fighting with the other cop. I grabbed the cell keys and came to let you out."

She was crying by then. Danny knew that this must have been hard for her. He shouldn't have made her repeat what she had seen. She had actually seen the guy take a bullet into the face. Maria finally got words through her sobbing.

"Danny. I'm scared. This isn't…good."

"It's alright. I'm here. We'll get out of this situation."

He then realized that he was comforting her for the first time since they'd met. And they weren't even an item anymore. It even amazed him that they were even talking. But this was a situation that you didn't want to be alone in.

The teenage boy looked at his surroundings and noticed the bus station. He then thought of an idea. Maybe one of the buses was heading back to Tulsa or somewhere close.

"Maria. Let's take a bus. It might be heading in our direction."

Maria looked at the bus station and started to wipe her eyes.

"Okay," she said after sniffing a little bit.

They walked on towards the station and bought themselves a ticket. The bus was heading towards a small city a little ways from Tulsa. They would just take it there. And it was good timing, the bus was approaching right then.

The two lost teenagers were standing in the line to get on the bus. Danny took a look at Maria saw they she looked a little calmer. He was pretty sure that she was still scared though. And to be truthful, he had fear in him too. He had wished about fifteen times that his dad would come and find him. Or at least one of his uncles.

They entered the bus and turned in their ticket. They made their way through the bus looking for two empty seats, walking past an old couple, a drunken middle aged man, a woman that looked like she was on drugs, and a dirty mean looking man.

The two sat three seats behind the mean guy and got settled.

"Were you able to call my uncle?"

Maria nodded and Danny decided to keep things quiet, knowing that she didn't want to talk right now. He decided to think more. He had never had this many thoughts in his head before. He remembered how different he and Alex were to everyone else. Yet, just about everyone was different. He and Alex liked to wear longer clothing while Jack was always wearing muscle shirts in the summer. Rachel seemed to wear plane shirts with no decorations, the same with Houston. Maria had a versatile line of wear. But then the biggest thought hit him. Ever since he came to Tulsa, he has been in more trouble than when he was in Atlanta.


	11. Still Searching

Keep those reviews coming. I'm really enjoying them. Also on a little minor note, there is a possibility that this fic won't be as long as the last two. Hey, I said it's a possibility. We'll see.

Chapter 11: Still Searching

Danny had fallen asleep after riding for a while. When he woke up, he noticed Maria had fallen asleep too, with her head on his shoulders. A great feeling grew in Danny. He would have let her stay like that, but with your neck bending over like that, it would be uncomfortable. He reached into the overhead hoping to find a pillow or something. He didn't find one, but someone had left their blanket on the bus. Close enough.

He folded up the blanket and put it on the window. He proceeded by putting Maria's head on the blanket. She moved a little, but fell back into her slumber. He took a look out of the window. It was night right now, and he had no idea how close they were to the place. They were driving through a city. He enjoyed the way the nightlife looked.

Soon the bus driver pulled into a gas station at a town outside of the city. He stood at the front of the bus and announced,

"This is our only rest stop. You can get food from the station, and use the restroom. We'll be here for fifteen minutes. Don't be late."

He ended his speech by walking off the bus and some passengers followed him. 'The only rest stop.' Danny decided that he better wake Maria. He shook her softly and she creaked open her eyes.

"We're at a rest stop. Need to use the restroom or get a soda?"

"Mmm-hmmm," she answered tiredly and she stretched a little.

They both slid out of their seats and walked on towards the gas station. As they were walking towards the entrance, Maria reached into her purse and asked,

"Wanta buy yourself a drink?"

Danny looked at her. She was giving him money. He felt like their relationship was growing back. He accepted her offer and walked into the station with her tailing behind.

When Maria was 'powdering her nose' Danny was reading a DUBS magazine. Looking at all the nice cars. They were expensive ones like a Mercedes Benz. Danny was never into those types of cars. Like he had said before to Maria, he liked Cadillacs and was starting to get fond of Cutlass also. That updated his memory of Maria's car. Now he was starting to feel guilty for wrecking it. But he was in a moment of panic.

Something caught his eye out in the parking lot. There were two people running up towards the bus. He recognized them immediately. There was Matt and the guy that was chasing him. He quickly ran towards the bathroom. They were co-eds. He knew Maria was in there. He knocked on the door quickly and Maria answered soon, after hearing Danny's voice.

"What?" she asked.

"They're outside. Both of them."

"You mean Matt and-"

"Yeah!"

"Come in here!"

"In there?"

Maria didn't want to argue and before Danny could make a second protest, she pulled him into the bathroom. Danny saw that there was a small window right above the toilet.

"Okay. A window in the bathroom. These are sick people," commented Danny while watching Maria climb towards their escape. He could hear a chuckle from her because of that comment.

"Pull it to the right," said Danny seeing that Maria was pulling the latch the wrong way. She attempted his tip and finally got it open. She went through and Danny followed.

"I'm going to get tired of windows," said Maria as Danny landed.

"Stay here," he commanded

He took a peek around the corner and saw that their two stalkers were holding up the bus. This was their chance to escape. He whispered "C'mon" as he ran towards Maria. She followed her partner as they entered the woods. Maria wasn't sure where they were going, but Danny knew. He knew this was the way towards the city they passed. It would be hard for the two to find them there.

When they finally got through the woods, there was a large building right in front of them. They walked towards it and saw that it was a back door. The Curtis looked at his companion and she shrugged. Danny opened the door.

They walked through the hallway and opened another door. Maria's eyes widened and Danny smiled. They were in a night club.

"This looks like 'Players Club'," he commented.

"Danny! That's a dirty movie!"

He shrugged and Maria spoke her thoughts.

"And besides. I don't like this place."

"Why?"

"We're not old enough. And there's alcohol here."

"You act like I haven't drank."

"You barely do. And that was one bottle of that blue stuff."

"It's called Hypnotic."

"Whatever. Let's go. I don't like this."

"Fine. Let's find a shelter or something."

They left the club. Danny really wanted to stay and have fun. He had snuck into clubs millions of times. They walked on and found a car lot. They decided to rest in one of the cars.


	12. Better Shelter

-Aiight, I know I haven't updated lately. And I probably won't be able to update daily either like I usually do. I've got a lot of things that I'm working with, so I needed a quick break from this, and I had a little fun over the weekend. Okay. But all and all,

I'm baaaaaack.

Chapter 12: Better Shelter

A round of shots rang throughout the car lot and both teenagers woke up. Maria was about to raise up, but Danny yelled,

"Stay Down!"

Maria followed his command and they stayed beside the seats as the shots continued. Danny recognized the sound though. It didn't quite sound like gun shots. They were slightly different, he would know.

"Time out!" yelled a voice. It didn't come from either of the lost ones.

Danny looked up slowly towards the windows as the shooting started to cease. There were suddenly two more shots and he went back into cover. The voice yelled again,

"What parts of time out don't understand?"

The shooting stopped again, and he took a wild guess. He guessed that the firearms were paintball guns. Someone appeared to the passenger window and Danny looked in that direction. There was someone with a black mask, like a Halo character, with red and black attire that said Dye on it. He was right. Those were paintball shots.

"We've got two people in here," the voice yelled again, and Danny climbed out of car. Maria did the same move.

There were more paintball players walking towards them. This must have been their usual playing field. There were about four of these types of people, two in red, one in blue and another in grey.

The one with his the blue took his helmet off, displaying his brown hair flowing dead to the back of his head.

"Who are you two?"

"Danny."

"Maria."

The guy wiped his sweating forehead and proceeded with the questions.

"What are you two doing here? Y'all could have gotten hit in the head with the paintballs."

"Definitely," said another one pulling his helmet off. The other two took off their head gear also.

Danny looked at the teenagers and saw that one of the girls was a girl. She turned him on immediacy. She had nice straight ebony hair, dark green eyes and a good figure. The Curtis would have been mesmerized all day if one of the other guys hadn't started to speak.

"What are you two doing here? I've never seen you around this neighborhood."

"We're from Tulsa," answered Maria.

"Tulsa?"

"Yeah, is it close to here?"

"Close as to three hours from here. Are you guys lost?"

"Yeah," answered Danny, finally getting something out of his mouth.

"Well you aren't going to be sleeping in a car for a while are you?"

"Hope not."

"We've got a place," said one boy with short black hair. "Is that okay with you, Meagan?" he finished while looking at the female.

"I don't car. It's Grandma's house."

"Well we can ask her when we get home. Do you want to stay with us?"

"Sure," said Maria with a smile while Danny just nodded.

"Alright. We'll see you two later or something," he said to the other two boys.

The other two boys nodded and departed towards the end of the car lot.

"Okay. Let's go. I'm famished anyway," said the girl putting the safety on her weapon.

"How far is it to your home," asked Maria.

The girl pointed over towards a nearby building.

"It's right behind that building right there. In a small house."

"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of room for you two," said the boy. "By the way, my name's Tony and this is my sister Meagan."

"Hi," greeted Meagan.

Her greeting made Danny smile. He really had a nice crush on this girl. He hadn't felt the same way he felt about a girl ever since he first laid eyes on Maria. The teenagers with their new companions walked towards the building Meagan was just pointing towards.

They walked around the house and came towards a small house right at the side of the building.

"Our grandmother owns this place," started of Tony. "It's a hotel used by guests when they visit. We usually have a lot of vacancies."

"That's why y'all live next door," pointed out Danny.

Meagan nodded and when they entered the small house, she yelled,

"Grandmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

There was no answer. Just complete silence.

"She must be in the hotel right now," said Tony putting his paintball bag down on the floor.

"I'll be right back."

Tony walked outside and Maria asked,

"Can I use your restroom?"

"Sure, down the hall and the first on the left."

Maria thanked her and walked to find her rest stop. This was Danny's chance to get to know Meagan. He wasn't going out with Maria, so he could bring his mojo back.

"So. How long have you been playing paintball?" he asked.

"For about two years. Both me and my brother. Do you play?"

"I haven't really had the chance recently. I did a lot back in Atlanta though."

"I thought you were from Tulsa?"

"That's where I live now. I used to live in Atlanta with my mom."

"Who do you live with now?"

"I lived with my uncles for a couple of months, and then I lived with my mom and dad."

"Your uncles. Were they cool?"

"Yeah. You've probably heard of one of them. Ponyboy Curtis."

"Oh yeah. He wrote that greaser and soc book. That's your uncle?"

"Yeah."

"So who's your dad? Darry, Soda, or Trix?"

"Trix."

"That's cool. Your dad was real tough, but your uncle is someone who I'd like to meet."

As they continued on with their conversation, Danny had grown to like her a little more, but there was only one problem. It didn't feel the same like when he and Maria first started talking. 'I'll give it time' thought Danny.


	13. Club Scene

Chapter 13: Club Scene

Danny continued to chat with Meagan, but he felt he wasn't getting anywhere at a certain point and time. Then he remembered that he would have to call his dad. They would have no idea of where to look for him.

"Meagan. Can I use your phone?"

"Yeah. It's in the kitchen."

Danny walked into the kitchen and searched for a telephone. There was one sitting on the table near the window. He picked it up and dialed his uncle's cell-phone.

"Hello."

"Ponyboy. It's Danny."

"Danny! Where are you? Are you two okay?"

"We're in a city hours away from Tulsa."

"I'm glad you're okay. When we got to the police station, there were millions of squad cars there. They were looking for you and Maria----and-----"

"Hello. Ponyboy. You're breaking up!"

"H---He----Hello?"

"I'm still here."

"Okay. Before the phone breaks off, we're going to need to know exactly where you are."

"Hold on. I'm at someone's house. She can give you directions."

Danny called Meagan into the kitchen and asked her to give directions to her uncle. She accepted and took the receiver and began talking. Danny didn't see any point in just standing there, so he walked back into the front of the house. Maria was standing there staring into space. He looked at her with confusion for a moment and then called out her name.

"Huh?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."

"About what?"

"Um….nothing."

Danny knew she was hiding something. She always has a long pause before she says nothing, when there was something she wanted to keep to herself. He desperately wanted to know, but didn't want to get into her business. If they had been still seeing each other, he would have made here reveal her secret. But this time, he didn't even bother. Meagan hung up the phone and walked into the front of the room.

"Did my uncle get the directions?" asked Danny immediately.

"Mm-Hm. They said they should be here by tomorrow night. Depends on your uncle's driving."

"Soda, right?"

"Yeah."

By that time, Tony had walked back into the house. He didn't have his paintball things with him and he was dressed in a green t-shirt, but still had on his jeans covered with paint.

"Done?" asked Meagan.

"Yeah. You can go ahead now."

Meagan picked up her bag filled with paintball equipment and walked outside. After she was out of sight, Maria asked,

"What were you outside doing?"

"Letting out my C02 and putting up my stuff. Meagan was going to change clothes, so I had to put up my stuff first."

"So what do y'all do around here?" asked Danny.

"Well. Sometimes at night, we go to the club. We can sneak in."

"I remember that club. Me and Maria snuck in there last night. We would have stayed, but Maria was complaining."

"I wasn't complaining. You know I didn't like those types of places."

"Are you two related?" asked Tony.

"No!" they both said at the same time, Maria a little louder than Danny.

"Sorry. So you want to go to that club tonight. Me and the other boys are meeting there anyway."

"I'll go," said Danny. "I'm a little dirty, but I think I'll manage."

"It's just your shirt," said Tony. "I've got another one just like that. C'mon upstairs."

………..

That night, Tony and Danny walked out of the house.

"Your grandmother's a heavy sleeper," mentioned Danny.

"Which is why we're good at sneaking out."

"Meagan's not coming?"

"Nah. She said she was tired."

Danny was hoping that she would come. He would have bought her a drink or something. That's only if she drank though. He hadn't been in a club in a long time. Not since he was in Atlanta. If there was a club in Tulsa, he had never heard or been to it. Jack probably knew, but neither he nor Alex ever bothered to ask.

They met up with Tony's friends and snuck into the back of the club, like they always do. As they were in the club, Danny found himself getting bored quickly. He first started looking for girls, but all of them seemed nasty or ugly.

He sat by the bar. Tony had lent him some money for the bar, so he started to think while taking shots. He was now starting to miss Maria again. There was no other girl like her. He had gone out with several girls, majority of them were rough or spoiled. But she was perfect. They had a real good relationship going on. What could have made her exaggerate about that time when a girl pushed up on him? Danny felt himself getting dizzy after he took a large gulp of Cristal. His head was starting to swivel and suddenly, people started moving around quickly and there was crowd. He felt that if he moved that his head would fall off, so he stayed put. It was obvious that people were fighting. Then a loud sound rang throughout the place. There were people running, getting trampled, and some were just getting on the floor. He realized slowly that the loud sound was a gun shot. Someone had shot up the club.

Danny knew that if he stuck around, he would take a bullet. And there was no need for that to happen again. He scooted off the chair but couldn't hold his balance and collapsed on the floor. He raised his head showing his chinky eyes.

"Danny!"

Before he could find out who called his name, he passed out.


	14. Letting It Out

Updates might come short. Have a lot of stuff on my hands.

Chapter 14: Letting It Out

The next thing Danny knew, he was standing near a lake. He looked around; there was Alex, and Tay. There were also a couple of his old friends from Atlanta. All of them were in jackets or hoodies. Like they were preparing for a deal. Danny cut his eyes towards Tay and he was talking to someone, who had a gang backing him up. Their discussion suddenly turned heated and the Tay slapped the other guy. The other guy just stood there for a moment and a sawn off shotgun suddenly appeared in his hand. He unloaded right in Tay's face. Danny and the rest of the gang scrambled. He glanced back and saw Alex dropping; he had just taken a bullet. Danny ducked in some weeds, hoping to avoid the gunman's eyes. The shooter saw Danny and pointed the weapon in his direction….

Danny awoke and slowly creaked his eyes open. His head and stomach was giving him annoying pains. He shifted his eyes around and could barely recognize where he was in the dark room. There was a light showing in another room and he slowly lifted his body up. His head and stomach objected, but he did it anyway. A shadow appeared from the other room and it looked like a female.

His hopes went up. It might be Meagan and he would have another chance to talk to her. The figure seemed to notice Danny's movement and reached for a lamp. A small section of the room lit up and Danny's hopes dropped. It was just Maria.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

Danny then recognized that he was on a couch in Tony and Meagan's living room. He noticed a cot on the floor. That must have been where Maria would be sleeping. He took a look at his watch and saw that it was 2:00 am.

"Tony and his friends thought that you had been shot."

Danny swirled his head towards her, and a slight pain hit his head again. That probably did give them a good scare. And that dream he just had sort of connected to what happened in the club. For the first time, a dream had given him a good scare. He thought that he had actually taken a bullet that would end his life.

"They looked back and saw you slumped on the floor," continued Maria cutting into his thoughts.

"They ran over to you and quickly got you outside. Tony said that you had drank too much. I told you about that."

"Like you would care," mumbled Danny.

"What?"

Danny sighed and continued.

"Look. We ain't going out anymore, so you don't have to worry about me."

"Just because we _aren't_ going out doesn't me that we can't be friends."

"Oh, so now you want to be friends."

"Don't start with me. I saw the way you were trying to get with Meagan. Apparently, you didn't care about my relationship."

"Hold up! Hold up! I'm probably not going to bother with her anymore. And besides, I saw you going out with someone the next day after we broke up."

"When!"

"You were in a restaurant with someone."

Maria threw a smirk on her face.

"Gosh, Danny. That was my cousin. He had just gotten back from Europe. He doesn't get to see his family much."

Danny stared with disbelief. Another bad feeling hit him. Man. This summer was full of guiltiness.

"Well let me ask you one thing," said Danny.

"Go ahead," said Maria, crossing her arms.

"First off, I know that one picture wouldn't break us up. I think you're hiding something."

They stared at each other. He believed he had caught her. And she was supposed to be smarter.

"Well..," he said while waving his arms around.

Maria looked away with a new expression and answered.

"All the stuff that had happened to you. I hear what the girls have been saying. They want you. They think you're real tough. Both you and Jack are popular. Now that Jack has graduated, he'll be leaving. And you're the next target. All the girls would have been making a move for you-"

"And you though they would seduce me or something?"

She gave a slight nod. Danny decided that it was his time to speak.

"I guess you haven't known about my previous relationships. And I guess they don't either."

"What do you mean?"

"In Atlanta, there was a rule that all the ladies knew about me. If I was in a relationship with someone, then I wouldn't blow her off for anyone."

They had another staring contest. Danny wanted to ask her if she wanted to get back together with him, but he wanted to take it slow. After their moment of silence, the female wanted to break it.

"I guess we were both misunderstood."

"I guess so. Hey. Don't start crying again," he demanded when she started to sniff. "They're other people in this house you know," he pointed out.

Maria stopped almost instantly and wiped her nose.

"I know this is a lot," continued Danny. "I've been through a lot, and this is your first time dealing with something this big. But remember, we should be going home by tonight."

Maria smiled a little, which made him feel better.

"Well, let's get to sleep so we'll have energy."

"Hold up. You can take the couch."

She smiled as they traded place. Danny couldn't speak for his ex, but he felt that they would be getting back together real soon.


	15. Unsafely

Chapter 15: Unsafely

An aroma flew through Danny's nose the next morning. He sat up off of the cot and recognized the smell of waffles. They were burnt a little. He got up and found out that his head and stomach had eased a little. He ran his head through his hair and walked on towards the kitchen. Meagan was slapping a burnt piece of waffle on Maria's plate and Tony was throwing more batter in the waffle iron. He noticed Danny when he walked in.

"Want some breakfast?"

"Only if you let me cook it," remarked Danny.

"Let me finish this one. Then I'll let you cook one."

Danny went and sat down at the table.

"What time did Grandma leave?" asked Tony closing the iron.

"Around 8:00," replied Meagan. "Did you two have a nice night? I came in and saw y'all had traded places."

"Yeah. I woke up and let Maria have the couch."

Maria was quiet that morning. Most likely because of last night. Danny knew what was up. She almost found herself falling in love again last night. And frankly, he almost did too.

It had seemed like a long day. Both lost teenagers were excited about being picked up that day. To pass time by, they watched Tony, Meagan and their paintball team play a little. But finally, they got a phone call from Ponyboy.

"Hey, Danny!" yelled Meagan with her hand on the phone.

"Yeah!"

"Your uncle's on the phone!"

He got up instantly and rushed for the kitchen phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Danny. Okay so far?"

"Yeah. How long til' you guys get here?"

"We're almost there. And we're in a hurry."

He detected a little worry in his uncle's voice and became concerned.

"What's wrong? What's the hurry?"

"I'll tell you later. Just meet us outside by that hotel in ten minutes."

"Okay-"

Danny didn't have the chance to get another word out of his mouth because the dial tone interrupted him. He seriously wanted to know what was going on. He walked into the room and told Maria his uncle's message. He turned to Tony and Meagan.

"Hey. Before we go, I wanta say thanks for letting us stay here."

"It's no problem."

"We felt sorry for you."

Danny shook his head while smiling at Tony's comment. Maria said her goodbyes and they walked out towards the hotel. After a while, a familiar vehicle showed up. Their faces lit up when Soda and Ponyboy got out of the car. They ran over and exchanged hugs. That did make Maria feel a little awkward. When she was going out with Danny, they had mentioned that she was like family, but they weren't going out anymore. They entered the car and drove off quickly. Danny then popped the question.

"Okay. First off, where's dad? And secondly, what are we rushing for?"

Pony sighed and Soda answered him.

"That guy with the scar. He was at the same jail as your dad, and they had a long running feud. He was sent down here with…"

"Matt?" asked Maria.

Soda turned around to the two.

"H-how did you two know?"

"We saw Matt days ago," said Danny. "He teamed up with the scar guy and was planning to nab me. They were gonna kill me and my dad."

"Well we didn't know about the nabbing part," said Ponyboy, keeping his eyes on the road. "But we do know that we caught those two a while back. They went looking for you and now Darry and Trix are looking for them."

"Well we gotta find them!" yelled Danny.

"We gotta get you two in a safe place first," said Soda. "Then we-"

Sodapop was cut off by Ponyboy's swerving of the car. He just avoided a car that almost hit them. Danny and Maria looked in the back mirror to see the car swerving to a stop.

"He's trying to ram us!" yelled Maria and Danny.

Pony checked the rear-view mirror and saw the car coming. He instantly pulled to the side of the road trying to dodge the car. The car drove right past them again. Danny saw this as his chance. They were after him and he was going to lead them away.

He jolted out of the car ignoring the calling of his name. He wanted to find his dad or Darry at least. He heard a car revving up and knew it was either Ponyboy or Sodapop. He looked back and was surprised to see Maria chasing after him. Did she want romance back? Danny shook it out of his head. It was a bad time to be thinking about that.

He slowed down in front of a building and Maria caught up with him. He then asked,

"What'd you follow me for?"

"Danny. He'd be after me too. Remember, I heard him say that he burned down Two-Bit's bar."

Danny had a hunch that she was just trying to make an excuse, but didn't bother asking. Especially because he saw a familiar figure behind her.

"Dad!"

Trix was running towards the two.

"Are you two okay?" he asked when he reached them.

"We're fine. Look!"

Danny pointed behind Trix and saw the man with the scar approaching the three. Trix readied himself and commanded,

"Get in this building right here. I have some business to conduct."

They heard the force in his voice and obeyed. Danny thought it would be wise to go the second floor so he told Maria to follow him. As they were climbing the stairs, they heard a window break but neither bothered to find out what caused the shattering. They reached the second floor. It was filled with gas barrels and other items. They decided to relax.

"Do you think your dad can take that guy?" asked Maria.

"I think so. He seemed pretty big, but my dad's a nice fighter."

They were interrupted by the door swinging open. Maria screamed and Danny was half-surprised to see who it was. Matt was in their presence once again.

"Ready for round two?" asked Matt in a sinister voice.

"Get back Maria."

She scooted back slowly towards the wall. As scared as she had ever been in her life. The two approached each other and Danny made the first swing. Matt wasn't fallen from the blow and made a swing back. They grabbed each other and started wrestling for a while; Danny broke loose and gave another swing. They kept trading blows and occasionally making misses and trying to trip each other. Finally, Matt gave a hard blow to Danny's stomach. Half of the wind was knocked out of him and Matt grabbed his hair. Danny could feel the hair almost being wrenched out of his skull as Matt swung him around and let go after a swing. Danny slid back towards the king-size window on the wall. Matt took a giant leap and was coming for Danny in mid-air. But the young Curtis took advantage of this and used his foot to block his opponent and pushed him upward to knock him over his body. Matt went flying and shattered through the window.

Danny sat up quickly. He didn't mean to do that. He got onto his feet and made his way towards the shattered hole. He looked to see that Matt had landed hard in a giant pit of water in the back of the building. What made the situation better was that the police were there and were pulling the teenager out of the water. He was going to get arrested now. Danny could help but smile.

"Danny! Maria!"

Maria showed up beside him looking through the window. They could faintly hear people's voices.

"The building's on fire."

Danny understood what they were saying and looked at Maria. She was looking back with wide eyes. They both turned to see fire in the open door. It was heading towards them and the gasoline.

"We gotta jump! Okay!" yelled Danny to Maria. She nodded slightly and looked out the window.

"Okay," started Danny. "On the count of three. 1-2-3!"

They instantly jumped out of the window. As they were mid-air, they could feel the heat from the fire almost touching their ears. The wind from their falling cooled them as they hit the water below them. Danny found himself swimming around underwater. Maria was doing the same. They grabbed each other's hand and swam above the H2O. The police were there in a heartbeat to help the teenagers out of the water.

The police got the teens over towards the ambulance and gave them blankets. They later on explained that Danny was proven innocent. When the guy with the scar admitted to burning Two-Bit's bar, it was caught on tape at the station. Danny and Maria could see both Matt and the Scar Guy being put back into the squad cars. When the police left the two alone, Danny wanted to ask a question. It was either now or never.

"Um. Maria?"

"Hm."

"Well. Now that we fully understand…each other. Do you think that…we could get back together?"

It was reminiscent to when Danny first asked her out. It felt like the whole word was focusing on them.

"Danny. I'm sorry…"

His heart dropped. He knew what was coming.

"But I need time. It's too soon. And well…"

"It's okay. I understand," broke in Danny.

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Maria's parent showed up then, and she went to go see them. Trix was behind the two the entire time.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked while sitting next to his son. There was a scratch on his chin from the fight with Scar.

"Yeah. I think it's time to move on."

Trix smirked.

"I think you're starting to grow a little more."

At that moment, Cathy's car came riding up. Both she and Kasie got out of the vehicle. They instantly went towards Danny to see if he was all right. After Cathy went to her husband, Kasie asked,

"Are you and Maria still not going out?"

"Nah. We just need a little time. I'll be fine."

"Well," started off Kasie. "I have a little news that involves us."

Both men turned around to her. Wondering what news could affect all three of them.

"Trix..Danny," she introduced. "I'm pregnant."

Yeah. This is it. Dang. This took up five pages of Word. Anyway, I wanted to go ahead and finish this story. I've been flushed with ideas. And I'm especially excited about one that's been in my head ever since last Friday. Well, next up is the sequel to Rebellious & Bitter. But after that, I'm going to do a remake of the Outsiders, sort of. I'm going to write it with a 2005 twist as well as a couple of twists of my own. It will have the same plot as the book, but will have a couple of changes and additions to throw in originality. Okay. Catch you later.

**Trying 2 Live Up-Up Next!**

Young and rebellious Brian Cade is the youngest of his mother's many children. The only family he knows is his older twin brother and sister. All three of them have been moved from child home to child home. Derek is determined to figure out who his father is. No matter what happens.

**The Outsiders: Now-A-Days**

This is the Outsiders story with a current twist as well as a couple of twists of my own. It will have some minor changes as well as a couple of additions.

**2-4-1(Two for One)- Coming Soon!**

Ponyboy has just witnessed his first love. But it can mean trouble, when she's a target for Curly Shepard.

**What It Was Like Before-In Progress**

Find out how it was before Danny Curtis moved to Tulsa. What exactly did happen between Jack, Rachel, and Houston to make their life miserable?

Also:

Untitled That Was Then, This is Now fic

Curtis & McCormick

Another Addition, Another Story


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